San Antonio, TX, USA, May 30, 2018 -- “Working with young people and adults alike, I know firsthand that there can be, at certain times, many areas in our lives that are hurting.”

This is a reality that she faces every day in her work as a hospice chaplain, giving spiritual guidance to those in need during the last stages of their lives, as well as providing support to families and loved ones.

However, at a difficult time in her own life, after having gone through a divorce, a friend gave Sims a gift that would forever change her outlook on her life, as well as those around her. Her friend gave her a red-factor canary, named Frankie. Red-factor canaries are unique from other birds because their owner can actually influence their color.

Sims had had birds before, but never one quite like Frankie.

The relationship between animals and humans is something that modern science is just beginning to understand. For instance, innovative medicine programs are beginning to accept that there is much to learn from a cross-disciplinary approach between human and animal medicine, for example.

But even beyond the field of medicine, the parallels between humans and animals have much to teach us about who we are.

“You can overcome difficulty. That’s what I learned from Frankie. There comes a time to trust somebody. Frankie would perk up in the morning: he recognized my voice. As humans, we share that same ability to go to the Lord. There is help and there is hope, but you will never meet your full potential if you are hiding.”

The series of events that Sims shared with Frankie were so profound that she decided to write a book about it, using her experience with Frankie as a metaphor for her own life and challenges, one that she knows can speak to a diversity of readers who are going through their own challenges.

“This is a time on the earth when people need hope more than perhaps ever before,” Sims says. “My intention is for my book to give them that hope.”

“This is a unique account of the bond between a bird and a woman that can offer readers of any age insight into their own lives,” adds publisher Lisa M. Umina.

For more information about Ilene Sims visit http://www.halopublishing.com. “Soaring with Frankie” is now available at Halo Publishing International, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Goodreads, and Books a Million in Paperback for $10.95 and as an e-Book for $5.95.